


No Secrets

by doomcanary



Category: Merlin (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 08:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1338460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doomcanary/pseuds/doomcanary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Episode tag for 1x?? - I really will look this up some time, I swear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Secrets

Merlin went down the stairs, his heart strangely heavy and his head strangely light. The fragile new strength he'd seen in Morgana's eyes... he couldn't forget the druid boy in the woods, the sheer raw power that hat hit him like a gust of wind as a child had tossed three grown men away like clods of earth. The dragon had warned him about the boy, and today Merlin had seen why.

The dragon had warned him about Morgana too. The leaden feeling in his chest was foreboding; what would Morgana's strength, her icy courage, ultimately become? The flags of the hallway were a surprise to his feet, lost in thought as he was.

“Merlin?” said a voice from the shadows beneath the stairs.

“Arthur,” said Merlin, turning. Arthur didn't move; Merlin went to him. He stopped, too close for propriety, too far away for touch.

“Tell me I don't need to concern myself over that,” said Arthur. His face was shadowed in the dimness, but Merlin didn't need to see it to imagine the cut of blue eyes towards the staircase above.

“About Morgana?” said Merlin. “Don't be ridiculous.”

“You had me worried, Merlin.”

Arthur moved forward; the candlelight spilled down his shoulders, carving out his bulk from the shadowy flatness. He reached up a hand and touched Merlin's face; Merlin covered it with his.

“You know I'd never do something like that,” he said.

Arthur's eyes clouded.

“Stop it,” said Merlin, before he could speak. “I'd never do it for petty revenge. You know I've forgiven you for that.”

“I haven't,” said Arthur.

“I know that. I told you, you're being too hard on yourself.”

“I did something dishonourable. It doesn't matter if – if the person I did it to is...”

“Arthur. Stop it. Don't do this to yourself. I know you won't give up your honour just because we're – doing what we are. You shouldn't give it up. This doesn't make us bad.”

“You talk like Gaius,” said Arthur. “Too much Old Religion. My father's bishops would have you burned.”

“Your father's bishops are wrong. I know it, Arthur, I can feel it in my bones.”

Merlin was telling the truth. Each time he touched Arthur, he felt Albion stir within him, felt the magic of the whole land answer the royal call. It was a greater thing than either of them, what they created in the silent darkness of Arthur's kingdom-to-come.

In the now, Arthur sighed.

“I wish I believed that,” he said.

“I know why you went to Gwen,” Merlin replied. “I understand.”

Because Arthur desperately wanted not to be what he was; because he wanted to please his father, be a king. Because he'd hoped, desperately, that at least maybe he could be like Merlin, and find something beautiful in women as well as men. Merlin's breath caught as Arthur kissed him; rough hands cupped his face, and soft lips, dry in places, brushed over his. He gave in to it; answered Arthur with a tilt of his head, looking for the warmth of Arthur's mouth. Arthur caught Merlin's lip, let it go again, and pulled Merlin close as he offered the briefest, teasing brush of his tongue. Merlin deepened the kiss willingly, opening himself to this exchange just as he had to their conversation; challenging Arthur with a bold sweep, drawing back and inviting him to respond. By the time Arthur broke away they were pressed together from shoulder to thigh, and both were growing hard; but Arthur leaned his forehead against Merlin's, and the spark of passion faded into a silent pause. Merlin's senses were full: Arthur's face, blurred with closeness, alabaster in candlelight; his immense weight and presence in Merlin's arms; and blond hair soft as silk against his cheek. Deep in Merlin, Albion stretched golden tendrils up, reaching for its lord; he felt the magic unfurling, creeping out along his arms, tingling in his fingertips. _Arthur_ , it called.

“No secrets,” said Arthur. “Not between us.”

Merlin closed his eyes, and a deep, aching chasm opened up in his heart. The magic, reaching uncertainly, was on one side; and Arthur on the other.

“No,” said Merlin, his voice tight with emotion. “No secrets. Not a one.”

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of this episode was making me wince, and it was very easy to write the pisstake; but there were some really rich moments - carried as they so often are by Colin, though I really felt even he'd given up trying a couple of times - and I couldn't resist rewriting that little "staircase epilogue" scene. It's short, but it's sweet :)


End file.
